The use of golf carts addressed at Lake Township meeting

Published 11:11 am, Monday, April 25, 2016

LAKE TOWNSHIP  At the November meeting of Lake Township, Supervisor Clay Kelterborn suspended the regular order of business to address questions and concerns regarding the use of golf carts.

Present were Huron County Prosecutor Mark Gaertner and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Gerald Prill. The Michigan State Police, Huron County Sheriffs Office, and the Michigan DNR all were represented. Also available to answer any questions was Steve Leese of Huron County Central Dispatch/ Emergency Management. He stated that between January and Nov. 20, 2005 there were 50 calls to Central Dispatch regarding ORV complaints, 10 of which were from Lake Township. Problems with ORVs seem to be a county-wide problem.

Again, the friends and neighbors of the Nitzko family returned to get answers. Hans Nitzko, present at the October meeting, did not attend this time, but instead, was represented by his son, Berndt, and daughter, Heidi Stricklin. The family's immediate concern is for the future.

"I have to pursue this to make any sense of our family's tragedy. I have a summer home around the corner from my parents, Stricklin said. If something is not done about these illegal activities now, it might be one of the children next."

The Lake Township residents present agreed many of the golf cart operators are underage and unchaperoned, and that it is not unusual to see 5 year olds driving the carts when they can't even reach the pedals.

The lengthy November meeting thoroughly covered all areas of concern with ORVs and Slow Moving Vehicles, for which golf carts are regulated.

All questions were addressed to Kelterborn who then fielded them to the appropriate law enforcement agency for a response. Gaertner distributed State of Michigan statutes covering the definitions of ORVs and Low Speed Vehicles.

Some of the highlights of the regulations of ORVs include:

"a person shall not operate an ORV that is not registered under the code upon a public highway, street, or right-of-way or a public highway or street unless: a. allowed by municipal law,

b. may cross public highway for getting from one area to another if it can be done safely,

c. special event of limited duration … under permit from the governmental unit having jurisdiction.

d. and under MCL324.81122, those instances in which a farmer of farmer's agent who is at least 16 may operate."

MCL 324.81129 states:

"(1) Parent or legal guardian of a child less than 16 shall not permit the child to operate an ORV unless the child is under the direct visual supervision of an adult, and child has in immediate possession an ORV safety certificate.

(2) Parent or guardian of child less than 12 shall not permit the child to operate a 4 wheeled ATV unless the child is not less than 10 and is on private land owned by him.

Golf carts that fall into the Low Speed Vehicles category are bound by the 28 requirements. The most important ones are:

Operational requirements: "shall ride as near to the right side of roadway as practicable … not permitted on a sidewalk …; Shall not be operated on a road or street with a speed limit of more than 35 mph."

Most attendees agreed that almost all carts and drivers in their neighborhood were in violation.

Officials stated during a period from January until Nov. 20, 2005 while only receiving one call from Lake Township, there were 12 arrests for operating an ORV on a public highway and eight arrests for operating in a closed area. All were successfully prosecuted.

The Huron County Sheriffs Office and the Michigan State Police agreed they have always used discretion in the past regarding ORV violations. And all stated they will continue to do that, but will take all complaints seriously and crack down on abusers by writing citations. The difficulty will be citing responsible users who aren't operating by the letter of the law, i.e., a man with a heart problem who operates a cart to go along side his wife while she walks. Another described from a letter, that "our son is mentally handicapped and we accompany him around the neighborhood while he drives the cart, and it gives him so much pleasure.

The resident's agreed, though, that he is in violation on the road, because he did not have a valid driver's license, and they would support the action of the law enforcement agency in spite of the pressure from those who feel they are being "hassled by the law enforcement agencies." Gaertner noted that, "Many people don't want enforcement."

There was also a concern regarding ORVs operating on the beach. Prill said that falls under the DNR ORV regulations.

It was noted that a citation can be issued without the enforcement officer having witnessed the violation.

If you know who the operator is and are willing to sign a citation, call 9-1-1 and be ready to give as much descriptive information as possible, he said. He suggested the township send a letter to his office requesting information on applicable laws and regulations on ORVs that could be printed and mailed out to all property owners in Lake Township. He also suggested, "Get a video camera and start videotaping violators."

Sheriff Kent Tibbits suggested a neighborhood watch and will send brochures on forming such a group.

"On behalf of our family, I'd like to thank the community  the neighbors and friends who took the time out of their busy schedules to support this meeting, Stricklin said.